Islamic State foreign fighters' ranks drop to 25,000, U.S. saysFebruary 24, 2016 - 11:41 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A top Obama administration official says the Islamic State group's ranks of foreign fighters have dropped to about 25,000 from a peak of 35,000, the Associated Press reports. Brett McGurk is the U.S. special envoy for the global coalition to counter IS. He says fighters from 120 countries have joined IS. McGurk is touting progress in the U.S.-led effort to defeat IS. He says the extremist group is under pressure and has cut fighters' salaries by about half. McGurk says President Barack Obama will get an update on diplomatic and political efforts Thursday, February 25, at the State Department. The meeting comes after the U.S. and Russia announced a ceasefire agreement for Syria to take effect later this week. McGurk says the U.S. is under no illusions about how difficult implementing the ceasefire will be. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |